Brighton to allow Marc Cucurella to join Man City if asking price is met | OneFootball

Brighton & Hove Albion will allow Marc Cucurella to join Manchester City as long as the club's asking price is met, 90min understands.

The Spaniard is a primary target for the Premier League champions, with Pep Guardiola recently confirming his side are in 'negotiations' with the Seagulls over a deal.

"He is a Brighton player. I cannot say anything," Guardiola said when asked again about Cucurella on Friday.

Asked if he wants a left-sided defender, he added: "If it is possible yes."

90min understands that although Cucurella has told Brighton that he wants to join City this summer.

However, for Brighton to agree to his wish, City need to raise their offer and come closer to the Seagulls' high asking price. Albion are holding out at £50m plus add-ons for their star player of the 2021/22 season, but City's offers to date have fallen around £10m short of that figure.

24-year-old Cucurella was an instant hit on the south coast following his move from Getafe, making 35 Premier League appearances and scoring in their 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United towards the end of the campaign - he also won the Players' Player of the Season and Player of the Season awards at the club's awards night.

Brighton manager Graham Potter recently insisted that Cucurella remains happy at the AMEX despite the interest from league champions City, but said he appreciated the distractions that transfer links can provide.

"Yes, he’s happy. It’s not easy because there’s speculation and these things," Potter remarked. “He is a human being and that is the challenge with footballers. When the window is open, you get linked with this and that.

“He is a human being and that is the challenge with footballers. When the window is open, you get linked with this and that.

“It is what it is. We have a lot of respect for Marc and we like him a lot and we are just helping him enjoy his football.”

City want a new left back following the exit of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal, with Joao Cancelo their main option in that position.